The population biology of Culaea inconstans, the brook stickleback, in a small prairie lake
Density, female reproductive effort, diet, and morphology of a population of Culaea inconstans were monitored over a 4-year period. Density varied from near extinction to 2.4 fish/m2. There was evidence that growth and female reproductive effort were inversely correlated with density. Females may spawn every 3 days when food is abundant. Fecundity ranged from 104 eggs per female when density was greatest, to 451 eggs per female the year density was least. The species is capable of large scale prespawning migrations, which may result in an immigrant to resident ratio of 0.5–8:1, depending on resident density. Regular immigration coupled with periodic extinction of populations occupying unstable habitats may account for the apparent lack of local morphological adaptation which seems to characterize this species. Despite substantial variation in density, significant variation in annual growth, and different levels of predation, there was no important variation in gill raker means or the number of dorsal and pelvic spines over the course of the study.